Saturday, December 28, 2013

Fairy Tail Chapter 365 Review - Fanservice Turns Dark

Written by: Shiggins

Another extra-long chapter of drama!

Natsu and Happy arrive at the remains of the Ex-Chairman's home, but he's too late to save Erza and Mirajane. There is a heavy smell of herbs in the air and Natsu realises it was a sleeping drug that was coming from the tea (I told you so!). Natsu gets angry and literally destroys the entire house and although we first thought that was because he was letting out some rage, it turns out that he was actually burning all the herbs.

You Know It's Going To Be A Great Day When It Starts With Chibis!

Now, for all you fans of torture scenes out there, then this should be a treat. Erza is naked, chained up and has Kyouka in front of her. Kyouka tells Erza that the Ex-Chairman is Tartaros' ally, and Erza should stop struggling because the chains are restricting her magic. Convenient yes but let's move on. Mirajane is currently getting the Tentacle-Treatment that Minerva once got, apparently going to become a slave of Kyouka. Kyouka then tells Erza to reveal Jellal's location.

Hiro Mashima Teases Me With The Woman I Love

And speaking of Jellal, we go back to the Oracion Seis who are currently face-to-face with Crime Sorciere. Jellal tells Meredy to back off. Basically, he's going to take on all five of them on his own. (He's basically copying Laxus except Jellal has better opponents.) During this fight scene which seems to make Jellal look unbeatable in every way, we get to hear the true names of these five characters.

From Left To Right: Macbeth, Richard, Klodoa, Brain, Sorano, Eric and Sawyer. The Snake Is Called Kinana (Or Cubellios)

Back to Erza and Kyouka is continuing the torture. Kyouka's special ability seems to be that she can change people's senses, and she's making Erza extremely sensitive to pain. Then the whipping starts because Erza doesn't know. Apparently, Tartaros found out who the three that are linked to Face are, and yes Jellal is one of them. (Gasp?) In fact, Jellal is the last one still alive since Tartaros already killed the other two. Admittedly a bit disappointing since I was hoping to see which three were linked to Face, and I dislike Jellal being super-important yet again.

And now it looks like Jellal isn't doing so well, since he is up against five of them at once. (Well, four actually since Hoteye seems to be refusing to fight. He's still creepy good after the Oracion Seis arc.) Kyouka then offers a deal: If Erza reveals the location, Mirajane goes free. I know which one I'd choose but then again, I could bet quite a lot that Kyouka is lying her ass off.

This Is Breaking My Heart

The last little scene shows the Ex-Chairman talking to Franmalth. At first, the Ex-Chairman seems angry about the destruction of his house until he's reminded just how much money he's going to earn from this. The Ex-Chairman then says how Erza and Mirajane should be killed so as not to reveal the fact he allied with Tartaros. Then suddenly, Natsu and Happy fly through the wind and knock out the Ex-Chairman in one powerful, denture-throwing punch.

Natsu Didn't Get The New Pokemon Game He Wanted For Christmas

First of all, I'm going to address this issue about this chapter's "fanservice". I am on the side of the audience that thinks "Oh look, more fanservice. Oh well." almost every chapter, not counting chapters that take it too far (like Chapter 355 - http://otakunuts.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/fairy-tail-chapter-356-review-there-is.html ). However, this week was not fanservice whatsoever and here is why: It was a torture scene. Erza wasn't naked to arouse you boys and yuri-loving girls out there. She was naked to remove her dignity and so she couldn't hide anything. Obviously, there are some people out there who probably enjoyed watching Erza getting whipped but that doesn't make this fanservice, at least not intentionally. To put it simply, this was a torture scene and a pretty gruesome one at that.Not all nudity is used sexually and this was a perfect, albeit upsetting example.

Although Some Scenes Are Definitely Fanservice

Overall, I did enjoy this chapter although I can't help but be a bit confused at Oracion Seis vs Jellal. Did Doranbolt send Jellal to recapture Oracion Seis, after letting them go? Was he trying to deceive Cobra and the others? Or is Jellal acting of his own accord and if so, is that because he doesn't trust them to do anything but form another Dark Guild? I have no idea so please, let me know in the comments below if you do.Manga Rating: 3.5/5Overall Character of the Week: Erza Scarlet for surviving such horrible torture that none of us probably could and for showing us that nudity isn't always fanservice.Predictions: It's going to be carnage but Natsu won't win this round. I'm sure of it. He just can't. He might rescue Erza, if he's lucky but one of the Nine Gates or maybe even Minerva will take him down or make him have to resort to running away. Jellal is going to reveal his tattoo is actually the link to Face, and then he's going to get defeated. (If Cobra kills Jellal, I may just do a twirl... when nobody is watching and the curtains are closed.)

P.S The anime returns in April!

Wait. Why Is It Saying "Restarts In April"?

P.S.S Hiro Mashima wishes you a Happy New Year!

MORE CHIBI TIME!

Shiggins:[Admin].

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It's not fanservice this chapter. This chapter used nudity, not to arouse but to hurt. In torture, nudity was expected because it meant the victim had nothing to hide or protect them for the whipping and torture. It's actually quite a surprisingly accurate portrayal of torture in many cultures.

Watch Casino Royale. In the torture scene in that, James Bond is naked but in no way is that fanservice. (Unless you're some sort of ultra feminist-nazi who likes seeing men get their balls beaten by rope.)

I personally love this chapter. It's been a while since the plot has been good, especially after the Sun Village arc.Also, I like the torture scene very much. This is actually what people do in jail (in some parts of the world) and interrogating rooms. FT finally used nudity right and the nudity wasn't about fanservice. Unless you're sadistic and in to that sort of thing...

Just curious, but did Erza piss herself in this chapter? if you look carefully you can see there is a small trench below her crotch area, maybe that is used as a "toilet"? And I.M.O, it is completely possible she pissed herself cos of the pain caused to her. there's also a panel in this chapter that shows some liquid flowing down her legs and into the trench, but it might be sweat, for all i know.

Yeah, it's just sweat and tears. That hole is indeed used as a toilet in torture rooms but Erza didn't piss herself over the pain. I don't think Mashima would go -that- far, even though he has been pushing boundaries recently.